Oprah Fans Want Tyler Perry kicked off OWN

Tyler Perry‘s heavily promoted new collaboration with Oprah Winfrey and her OWN network has received both high ratings and widespread criticism.

Now, opponents of Perry have formed a Change.org petition calling on the talk show icon to dump the media mogul, calling his work “‘malt liquor’ for the community!”

“For decades Oprah Winfrey has used her television show to educate, empower, and uplift people of all races to be better versions of themselves. OWN has committed to be an extension of this work,” the petition reads.

Perry’s nighttime soap opera The Haves and The Have Nots, (which some have called a Dynasty rip-off), debuted this week earning 1.77 million viewers in its first hour and the second drawing 1.8 million viewers — the highest-rated debut in OWN network history. His comedy show Love Thy Neighbor followed with the second highest debut in the channel’s history, with 1.8 million viewers of its own.